Chapter 11: Creating a Monster

Uriah fell out of the car, the slash along her ribs bleeding sluggishly. She growled, the pain making her lose her grip on her woman-shape.

"Ma'am?" She looked up at the ashen faced police officer in front of her, his hands outstretched toward her. "Are you okay? An ambulance is on its way."

She ignored him, pulling out one of her three remaining guns and pointed the Glock at him. "Where did they go human?" She growled as her teeth changed from human to beast, her muscles spasming as she fought to keep her shape.

"I...ma'am...put the weapon down. What's...what's wrong with you?" The police officer said, his hands slowly snaking to his sidearm. He blinked rapidly as her image wavered back and forth.

"What's wrong is that I have to deal with you fleshy little bastards when I'm trying to win a prize!" And with that she leveled the gun at the human and fired. The police officer fell to the ground in a shattered heap and she walked past him, jumping into his car and taking off. Using the last of her energy, she found the Slayer's power echo and honed in on it. The little bitch might have gotten away for now, but she hadn't run far enough yet.

*****

"Cordy? Wake up! We're almost there." Angel said, reaching over into the darkened shadows of the truck and shaking the sleeping Seer awake. She sat bolt upright and swiped at her chin with the back of her hand.

"There?" She said sleepily, scooting over to his side of the seat to peer out at the Las Vegas skyline.
"Yeah. If she's here---" Angel stopped as the phone rang. He picked it up and flipped it open. "Gunn?"

"Fred." Fred corrected him in a tired voice.

"Tell me you've got something."

"She just got a room at the Jackpot Motel." Fred told him, her voice wavering in and out as static crackled over the connection. "But Angel...Lorne came by and he said...well he told us something."

"What?" Angel said sharply, glancing over at Cordelia, who was watching him with interest. She watched as his jaw hardened and the fire, if possible, got brighter in his eyes as Fred talked. There was silence for a moment and then Angel finally spoke, his voice rough and low. "Tell Lorne I don't care. Whatever he's doing, he better stay out of my way."

Cordelia's brow furrowed as he hung up the phone and stared at the road before him. "What happened? What did Lorne do?"

With venom in his voice, Angel told her what Lorne had told Fred and Gunn. Her mouth dropped open in shock. "What the hell was Wesley thinking? He knows--knew-- how dangerous Faith is. That dumbass! And Lorne! You'd think he'd be able to sense things like that. What's he going to do?"

"Fred didn't know. But she said he only told her that we shouldn't kill Faith." Angel said, glaring at the bright lights of Las Vegas.

"Screw that. Let his anagogic ass take the moral high road. We're getting her. Tonight." Cordelia spat, fist slamming into the dashboard. Angel glanced sharply over at her, wondering when she'd gotten so...hard. Right about the time I went all psycho probably. Angel thought, turning his attention back to the road.

*****

This time they paid for the room, at Wesley's insistence. The Jackpot Motel was all glitz and no taste, but neither of them cared. Wesley's head pounded though, as the nightclub across the street kept its music loud and full of bass. Faith hit the shower first while Wesley went for dinner, knowing they'd both been without food since the night before. It seemed so long ago that Wesley's head nearly spun as he thought about it.

Walking back upstairs, a Taco Belle bag clutched in his hands, he suddenly had a brilliant thought. He ran downstairs; he entered the little Laundromat and opened one of the many dryers. He pulled the laundry out and glanced around, but of the three people in the room, no one was watching him. He carried his fluffy armload back upstairs and dumped it on the bed just as Faith stepped out of the bathroom, the scratchy, complimentary bathrobe wrapped around her snuggly.

"What the hell did you do?" Faith asked, laughing in her throat as she sat down on the edge of the bed, her fingers picking through the assorted pile of clothing before her.

"I went shopping. What?" He asked off her look, his mouth widening in an impish grin.

"I've created a monster..." She said in wonder as she pulled out a pair of clean panties and a bra that wasn't sticky with blood, of which she was thankful. Further rifling found a pair of jeans and t-shirt with Bob Marley on it. Her nose wrinkled and she shook her head. "Who are these people and do they know you're supposed to separate your laundry?"

"Apparently not." Wesley said, pulling out another pair of jeans and a wifebeater. "These are serviceable."

"Serviceable? You're so English." She laughed, one black eye sparkling mischievously. He stuck his tongue out at her in a very-unstuffy manner and disappeared into the bathroom with his new clothing.

Faith seized the food bag and dug into the first chalupa she found. She turned her head at the sound of the shower coming on and smiled. She thought about the last time they'd showered together...well not together, together, but together. Faith smacked her forehead and demanded her brain to stop its limp little circle of thoughts. Now was not the time to be thinking those things. Especially not about Wesley....but...why not?

"I'm just horny from the fight. That's all." She muttered, finishing off her food and crumbling her paper into a ball. She chucked it back into the bag and stood, letting the robe slide off her shoulders. She reached for the stolen panties and stopped when her eyes met Wesley's across the room.

"Uh...sorry..." He stammered, retreating back into the bathroom, the door slamming behind him.
Faith stared at the closed door, a blush creeping up her cheeks as she pulled the bathrobe back over her bare breasts. Her heart thumped in her chest as she thought about what her Watcher had just seen. If she was uncomfortable before...well that was just the icing on the cake. She sat back down, legs drawn up, and waited for him to reappear.

Wesley leaned against the door, water dripping down his face. He blinked a droplet away from his thick black eyelashes and forced his breath to stop coming in little puffs. Naked Faith...naked Faith...he'd seen naked Faith. Faith naked. He couldn't get his mind wrapped around anything else and he took a deep, calming breath.

A calming breath that didn't calm anything.

He stayed there a few moments and then hesitantly cracked the door open and peered out into the room beyond. Faith smiled back at him from the chair, the bathrobe firmly back in place, her bruised lips stretched wide. He opened the door all the way and stepped out of the steamy bathroom.

"Hi." Faith said, running a finger through her damp hair. "You done in there Chief?

"Uh...yeah. Yes. Done." He said, sidestepping her as she pushed past him, her clothing in hand. She poked him in the stomach with the tip of her finger as she went by and smiled widely.

"Don't worry Watcher-boy. I'll get my turn." She said cryptically before she shut the door. He sighed heavily and collapsed on the edge of the bed, wondering what the hell had just happened. And what did she mean by her turn? Wesley shook his weary head and reached for the food bag.
"The world may never know." He muttered and took a bite, secretly wishing he had just a touch of Superman's powers as he stared at the bathroom door. He cursed and figured the wooden door must have been lined with lead.

*****

"That's my car!" Angel exclaimed as they passed the wreckage. Cordelia put her hand over his mouth and peered out into the lighted scene.

"What is that?" She asked in a hushed voice as she noticed a white sheet slowly staining with blood where it rested against something very dead. Police officers milled around the scene and several bystanders gaped with open mouths.

"I don't know. Lets find out." Angel said, pulling Gunn's truck to a halt beside one of the bystander's. "What happened?"

The fat, balding man started and turned to face him, his face pale and slightly green. "Police officer got wasted by some gun-wielding psycho." He answered, walking over the truck.

"And the car?" Angel asked, glancing back at Cordelia. She frowned and turned her attention to the man.

"Oh, hell I saw that myself. Almost got hit by a stray bullet, but my windshield caught it instead." He said, gesturing to the semi on the side of the road with a large crack in it. "Two women were fighting and they fired some shots and then the car crashed. There was a guy too, but he jumped out before they hit the pole."

"The women? Where did they go?" Cordelia piped up, hand clenched on Angel's arm.

"The one jumped off before the car hit the pole. Her and that guy scattered. Don't know where they went. The other one's the one that shot that cop." The guy said, looking back at the scene with a weathered eye.

"Thank you sir." Cordelia said and the man nodded at her.

"You're welcome. Better go and give 'em my statement so I get home. You take care." He said amiably and then took off back toward the scene.

"Faith?" Cordelia asked him with raised eyebrows.

"Faith." Angel agreed, steering the car around the crime scene. He pointed the truck toward the city. "I wonder who the other woman was."

"If she was trying to kill Faith, then she's probably a good guy." Cordelia answered bitterly, her knuckles white as she held on to him.

"You're probably right. Maybe if we meet her we can team up."

"Maybe."

Chapter 12

Back